Woman and child drown in Melbourne after being swept into waterway

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A community in Victoria's south-east is in mourning after a 33-year-old woman and 7-year-old boy died in Dandenong Creek yesterday afternoon. It's believed the woman went to the aid of the boy and also got into difficulty.

Transcript

00:00Police say this tragedy unfolded around 3.45 yesterday afternoon here at Dandenong Creek,

00:08which is about 30 kilometres southeast of Melbourne's CBD.

00:11And police say that a witness spotted a woman and a child floating in the water and raised the alarm.

00:19Officers conducted a search of the area and quickly located the pair,

00:23pulling them unconscious from the water and attempting CPR.

00:27But sadly, they could not be revived and the pair was declared deceased at the scene.

00:34Now, police say that this was a 33-year-old woman from Doveton, which is about three kilometres away,

00:40and also a seven-year-old boy from the same suburb.

00:45And they say that it appears as if the woman had actually seen the boy in difficulty in the water

00:51and tried to go to his aid, but instead found herself in difficulty.

00:56Last night, the Greater Dandenong Council had a meeting and they held a minute's silence to remember the pair.

01:05Mayor Jim Mameti says that he is offering his condolences to everybody who has been touched by this terrible event.

01:13And the rain has been steadily falling here at Dandenong.

01:17It has, in fact, continued to fall for quite some time.

01:22And behind me, you can see just how fast-flowing Dandenong Creek is.

01:27It's impossible, due to the muddy, swirling water, to see just how deep it is.

01:32But the rain has definitely meant that the banks of the creek bed are very, very slippery indeed.

01:39Now, police are going to prepare a report for the coroner.

01:42They're hoping to hear from any witnesses who might have seen this.

01:46And this area here is a very popular area, according to locals.

01:51There are a couple of walking tracks and recreation areas along the Dandenong Creek.

01:57The Doveton area, which is the suburb where this woman and the boy came from, is just three kilometres away.

02:03And so police are just hoping to be able to piece together exactly what happened in this absolute tragedy here.

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